Wednesday, January 6, 2010

I’m starting the New Year feeling pretty damn lucky. I have a job I love, we’ve got great energy, and the company has tremendous upside. As you may have seen in a previous post, much has changed for me over the past year. Although the economy has improved, unfortunately there are still many friends who are in transition. I am so grateful for the help and support that many friends gave me during my jobless period. Today, it is time to give back.

Doug Haslam is making a career transition. This is the first time in about ten years that he’s left one job without immediately having another to go to. Doug is truly one of the nicest guys in social media. He was one of my first friends on Twitter. Doug is generous by being helpful to all he “meets” online. He is so witty that it’s no surprise that he had a ton of followers when the Twitter universe was small and that actually meant something. With his Boston references and Sox chatter, he always helps me stay connected to the Hub of the Universe, even from 3000 miles away. I am confident that Doug will find a great opportunity that suits him soon. He is just too bright, too connected, and too much of a real PR professional that understands social media as well as traditional media. As you can imagine, Doug has a wealth of social capital that will no doubt help him. He’s also got some pretty good insights on using social media to find a job. Having been through it myself, I know he’s got the right approach that will propel his career. Still, I know that a little help from his friends will be appreciated.

So how can you help Doug? Even if you don’t live near him or work in his industry? If we’ve learned anything from social media over these last few years, it’s the importance of community and the connections we make within that community. In my experience, there are three things that will always help and always be appreciated.

Reach out to him and make an introduction that you think will be meaningful.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Back in the old days of Twitter (last year), we were all enthralled with the Madmen characters. Fans were taking up the personas of Don Draper, Peggy Olson and the other members of Sterling Cooper. It was fun to receive tweets from the characters as their responses were influenced by the characters personalities and the time frame they represented. We even debated whether the characters were sponsored by Madmen producer, AMC, or directly by fans; and then whether fans had the right to tweet. Of course, it proved to be a fan driven exercise that many of us enjoyed.

Last night, Shel Israel pointed out another Twitter character campaign, this one more factual and based on history. In honor of the 50th anniversary of his presidential campaign, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has created Twitter characters to relive the historic campaign that most were too young to follow. The JFK Library will use campaign documents to follow the trail and provide daily updates that will tell followers exactly what occurred on the corresponding day in 1960.

I am very excited about this approach. What a fantastic way to educate people who were born after that period about JFK’s meteoric rise and what political campaigns were like then. Could this be the basis trend for educating people about historical pre-internet events? Given our need for interaction and engagement, is this the way to educate people in a fun and interactive way? What other activities/events could be adapted to this style?

About

Many of us have found Twitter to be much more than a messaging platform, but a real community where friends, business partners, and acquaintances get together for conversation. This blog seeks to answer questions, point out tips, identify cool tools and talk about Twitter. Hopefully it will be helpful to newcomers and experts alike. It is patterned after the great Facebook related blogs Inside Facebook, All Facebook and FaceReviews.

There is a lot of great discussion going on about Twitter on many blogs. I won't duplicate those ideas, but hopefully this central place will make them easier to find.

You can learn more about me, Warren Sukernek, here. And of course, you can email me, ws AT Twittermaven DOT com or feel free to follow me @warrenss at our favorite place.